Best Places81645, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 81645, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
81645 ranks 15,385th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 81645
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
81645's strengths and weaknesses
Where 81645 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Short commute17.3 minutes each way, better than 93% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 81645 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,489 a month, better than only 7% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 81645
A household needs to earn about $243,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 81645 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $101,129, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 81645's effective rate of 0.24%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 81645
81645 runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 81645.
Who works in 81645, and how
Work in 81645 centers on hospitality & food and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 18%
Life in 81645
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 81645.
What the weather is like in 81645, month by month
81645 sees roughly 156 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 67 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs July and August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 18° | 13° |
| April | 38° | 30° | 25° |
| July | 67° | 57° | 50° |
| October | 46° | 37° | 31° |
Flying in and out of 81645
The nearest airport, Eagle County Regional, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 95 miles away.
The best schools in and around 81645
Schools across 81645 average a C, better than 28% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Homestake Peak SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Edwards Elementary SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- Berry Creek Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Vail Ski And Snowboard Academy (vssa)B · 47% proficient
- Battle Mountain High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 81645 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
81645 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 81645 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 81645
Is 81645 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 81645 ranks 15,385th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, population health, and low property taxes, and lowest on an overheated housing market and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 81645 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,006,367. The overall cost of living runs about 39% above the national average. Set against a $101,129 median income, cost of living beats 34% of zip codes.
Is 81645 safe?
81645 is safer than 3% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,155 per resident a year.
Compare 81645 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 81645. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 81645 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
81645 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 81645: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 81645: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 81645: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 81645: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
81645 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.